For the better part of a decade, Leprous have become something of a parody of themselves. Increasingly pop-leaning and focusing on Einar Solberg’s voice, the band started to leave behind their once progressive writing somewhere between 2015’s The Congregation and 2017’s Malina. But when Melodies of Atonement arrives with an album cover and preview tracks that carry shades of their early work… well the road to atonement is loOOoooOOoooOooong.
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Har – Cursed Creation Review
If the metal ain’t ferocious Cosmo doesn’t want it! But Har seems to have stirred and shaken him with their debut album Cursed Creation.
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Cephalotripsy – Epigenetic Neurogenesis Review
Artistic depth has two possible extremes. One extreme tries to express itself with an increasingly diverse set of stylistic ideas, choosing to portray emotions with whatever musical idea suits them best. The other extreme of artistic depth is the exploration of a single idea from as many angles as possible. Robert Schumann once hammered the same a note on his piano until he went mad, looking for possibly the perfect expression of that one note. Steve Reich explored the shifting of rhythms, creating rhythmic polymeters as dense as they were fascinating. Cephalotripsy slam. And they do it a lot.
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Nyktophobia – To The Stars Review
For those who do not know, Nyktophobia means a fear of the dark. I imagine a full quarter of those reading this have started whistling or imitating the air raid siren. Nyktophobia don’t have any particular ties to that sound, but it’s still a good name for them as their fourth album, To The Stars, features a dark and emotional take on melodic death metal.
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Black Hole Deity – Profane Geometry Review
A bear is still loose at the Goat Review HQ, it seems to sustain itself on death metal… Hyperdontia didn’t really satiate its hunger though so we threw it some Black Hole Deity.
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Malignancy – Discontinued Review
Mid comes in different shades and within mid, different permutations of a basic 5/10 can be found. Some albums have great ideas, but squander their potential elsewhere. Others are extremely by the numbers, containing no surprises and only catering to hardcore fans of their chosen style. Nevertheless, the world can’t discontinue the mid. In mid we trust!
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Matrass – Cathedrals Review
Believe me when I say that I approached Matrass initially with trepidation as the promo text declared that oft tricky “modern” goal. But Matrass then also declared that with this full-length debut, Cathedrals, they aimed to shed groove from their sound and lean heavier into post waters. So which direction are they bedding down after all?
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Cell Press – Cages Review
At the time of this review, Alice has sat and listened to Cages for about half the year, searching for the right words to say. At this album’s best, you can hear the makings of something special — a band that deserves the stardom and headliner status that contemporary luminaries. And at its worst? Well, they say no press is bad press…
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Adversarial – Solitude with the Eternal… Review
It’s a great year to be a blackened death metal fan. There’s been an embarrassment of riches within this microgenre so far — Diabolic Oath, Endless Loss, Heresiarch, to name a few — and we haven’t reached the halfway point of the year yet. So how will Adversarial’s new album Solitude with the Eternal… fare in this blackened treasure trove?
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Crypts of the Unknown: Lorn – Arrayed Claws
